Former India captain Dilip Vengsarkar had glowing things to say about Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, but also advised him to emulate Sachin Tendulkar and walk in his footsteps. The 15-year-old from Samastipur, Bihar, is all set to become the youngest-ever debutant for Team India, and if he achieves the feat in the next couple of weeks, he would break the record of the Master Blaster, which has stood for more than 36 years in men’s cricket. Sachin had made his debut against Pakistan in 1989 at the age of 16, while Sooryavanshi is aiming to achieve the same milestone one year earlier, at the age of 15.
The world was waiting to see Sooryavanshi make his debut on Friday against Ireland in Belfast, but it wasn’t to be, as head coach Gautam Gambhir and captain Shreyas Iyer went with the T20 World Cup-winning opening duo of Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson.
Ever since Sooryavanshi’s blitz in the IPL, the comparisons between him and Sachin have raged on, and fans believe that the left-handed batter can set the international cricket stage on fire just like Sachin did for more than two decades. Amid the growing clamour for Sooryavanshi, Vengsarkar nudged the youngster to take a leaf out of Sachin’s book.
“When I watched Sachin Tendulkar play, he looked mentally mature for his age. He did extremely well in inter-school tournaments in Mumbai, besides club cricket, where he scored consistently,” Vengsarkar told news agency PTI.
“He was mentally prepared to play a higher level of cricket, so that is how we picked him. He was so disciplined, passionate, and focused, and that is a great example for youngsters like Vaibhav to emulate,” he added.
‘Opportunity will come’
Sooryavanshi might not have made his debut on June 26, but Vengsarkar believes that the opportunity is right around the corner for the batter, who smashed more than 700 runs in the IPL 2026 season for the Rajasthan Royals.
“I am sure he will get the opportunity, and once he gets it, he will grab it with both hands because he is a very good player. He is just unbelievable,” Vengsarkar said.
“He has tremendous potential. Some of the shots he plays are unreal. His batsmanship is completely different. He can clear the ground with his bat swing and hand-eye coordination. In T20 format, he has been amazing,” he added.
However, Vengsarkar did not give a definitive answer when he was asked whether he sees enough in Sooryavanshi to predict a solid future for him in Test cricket.
“It’s very difficult to say because he is currently in the T20 format. I have not seen him play in a longer format,” he said.
“But I’m sure he will do well in that, once picked. We will have to wait and see how he plays in the longer format, which is very important,” Vengsarkar added.
